I picked up Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson with anticipation as I have been hearing some blurbs in the blogosphere about this bestseller book. Most bloggers speak positively about this book as a justification for their insatiable appetite for all things technological. Others have been cautious of Johnson’s extreme thinking, hoping that topics would bring about discussion and understanding not opposition and argument. Steven Johnson does a great job of seducing the public with the title, Everything Bad is Good for You, likely convincing many of his readers that he supports the unhealthy practice of making the “game world” the only world. While it is true that games can bring about an addictive behavior for a lot of children, Johnson speaks against this type of extreme behavior when he says, “believing in the Sleeper Curve does not mean that we should give up on reading and let our kids spend all their free time tethered to the Xbox.” He preaches a balanced lifestyle with reading and outdoor activities being apart of a healthy lifestyle. In this balanced lifestyle, Johnson argues, there is an advantage to playing video games, watching television and indulging in the Internet. It is not all the bad that many say it is. He relates many topics to support this argument some of which I agree with and others that I have some dissension with. He first speaks of the sleeper curve, a trend or progression toward sophistication, this theory is a very intriguing thought that I can definitely see happening in today’s culture. Johnson supports this theory of progression with examples from the Internet, television, gaming world, and film. Always pointing toward community and complexity as the driving force behind this progession. I would argue that while that community has played an important role in shaping this postmodern movement, it has also underwent a redefining of itself. What my parents define as community differs greatly from the communities forming all over the web. This added complexity has been a driven this youth society to a higher filed of sophistication and technological competence. Johnson is not naïve, he knows that his opinions may sound off-the-wall and sometimes a little reaching but that is his point, not to find a solution but to initiate discussion.
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I owe my entire career to the inspiration brought by endless hours of Mario and Zelda. Is that bad?
I may be a little off-balance … back in my babysitting hay days, the boys I watched derived hours of laughter from my attempts at their Mario and Bond games.